EXP 105 Week 1 DQ 1 Preparing Your Mind for Success

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Preparing Your Mind for Success [CLO: 4]. Due by Day 3.
Prepare: As you prepare to write your first discussion for this course, take a few moments to read the Week One Instructor Guidance (located in the left navigation menu of Week 1) and watch the author’s textbook introduction above. In section 1.1 of your textbook, Johnston (2013) defines “successful students” as “those who persevere in life and persist in learning” (para. 5). You are exhibiting perseverance by enrolling at Ashford University in order to continue your education and earn a degree. The author has developed a list of six factors found in Worksheet 1.1 in Section 1.1 that will have an impact on your success as a student.

Reflect: Carefully review the questions associated with each of the six factors in Worksheet 1.1. When you have reflected on your thoughts for each, you are ready to write your response.

Write: Respond to the questions associated with each of the six factors. Your response to each factor should be at least four to five sentences in length in order to provide sufficient detail and context. Note: Do not attach Worksheet 1.1 to your discussion response.

Your initial post should contain a minimum of 250 words and be written in complete sentences.

Respond to Peers: Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers. Discuss how the success factors described by your classmates compare to your own. Provide tips that can help maximize their success. Each response should be a minimum of 50 words.

Think about it this way…

This discussion is asking you to do three things:

• Find Worksheet 1.1 in Chapter 1 of your textbook, Intentional Learning for College Success.
• For the six factors in Worksheet 1.1, answer the question(s) associated with each. Answers must be in
  complete sentences.
• Respond to at least two of your classmates’ discussion posts. Use Respond to Peers to assist you with
  your reply.
  Type a heading for each section (e.g., My Motivation), and then write the information under each heading in complete sentences. This helps the reader quickly identify each section and helps you know that you have covered all of the requirements for this post.

EXP 105 Week 1 DQ 2 Confidence in Yourself as a Learner

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Confidence in Yourself as a Learner [CLO: 2]. 1st Post Due by Day 3.
Prepare: As Johnston (2013) notes in section 1.4 of your textbook, “Your thoughts, actions, and feelings play key roles in how you feel about yourself as a learner before, during, and after completing a learning task” (para. 17). These learning processes can give you a sense of confidence or fill you with dread as you consider the task that lies before you. In order to be an intentional learner, you need to recognize the powerful role your learning processes play and how to control and direct them before they control you.

Carefully read the true story of David in section 1.4 of of your textbook and watch the video Eddie Henderson: A leap toward a better future – Ashford University, about Ashford University student Eddie Henderson.

Reflect: As you begin your studies at Ashford University, what concerns do you have regarding your learning and achievement as a college student? How do your concerns relate to David’s or Eddie’s college experience? Now think of a time when you found yourself in a learning situation (e.g., a previous school experience or a new job) where you felt frustrated because you weren’t successful.

Write: Keeping in mind the learning situation you reflected on, address the following in your response:

• Share how your concerns relate to David and/or Eddie’s experience.
• Describe the learning situation and identify the possible reasons why you weren’t successful.
• What could you have done differently to reduce your frustration and increase your chances of success?
• What did you learn from the experience that can help you be successful if you face a similar situation
  again?
  Your initial post should contain a minimum of 250 words and be written in complete sentences.
  Respond to Peers: Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers. Reflect on the situations described by your classmates. How might have you handled the situations? Provide additional suggestions that could have helped them reduce frustration and increase their chances of success. Each response should be a minimum of 50 words.
• 0. Think about it this way…
     This discussion is asking you to do five things:
     • Watch the Eddie Henderson video and read David’s story in section 1.4 of your text.
     • Describe your concerns related to David and/or Eddie.
     • Identify a situation where you felt frustrated because you were not successful and describe the reasons
       why.
     • Explain what you could have done differently and what you learned from this experience that could help
       you be successful if you face a similar situation again.
     • Respond to at least two of your classmates’ discussion posts. Use Respond to Peers to assist you with
       your reply.

EXP 105 Week 2 Assignment Building Your Personal Learning Profile

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Building Your Personal Learning Profile [CLO: 2]. Due by Day 7. Understanding how your Learning Patterns affect your learning behavior is central to becoming an intentional learner.

In the discussion you provided specific examples of a time when you used each Learning Pattern. For this assignment you will provide a general description of how your Patterns emerge in all aspects of your life. As Dr. Johnston said in the video EXP105- Completing your personal learning profile, you want to be able to frame your description so that someone can get to know you quickly and completely. Your assignment should provide an explanation of the thoughts, feelings, and actions you have when you use each Pattern.

Directions:

1. Watch the Completing your personal learning profile video by Dr. Johnston and carefully re-read section 2.4 in your textbook. Click to view a Model Personal Learning Profile. Use the model as a guide to complete your own.
2. You will be filling out the Personal Learning Profile form to complete the assignment. To save it to your computer, use the following instructions:
   • Right click on this Personal Learning Profile link.
   • Select “Save As.”

EXP 105 Week 2 DQ Identifying Your Learning Patterns

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Identifying Your Learning Patterns [CLO: 2]. 1st Post Due by Day 3.
Prepare: Before attempting this discussion, please be sure you have completed the Learning Connections Inventory (LCI), then carefully read Chapter 2 and the Week Two Instructor Guidance (this is located on the left navigation menu under Week 2). In particular, pay attention to sections 2.1 and 2.2 which provide an overview of each of the four Learning Patterns: Sequence, Precision, Technical Reasoning, and Confluence.

Reflect: Your results of the LCI take the mystery out of how you learn and provide you with a set of terms to describe your learning processes accurately and thoroughly. The information gained from completing the LCI explains what you may have always known and felt about yourself as a learner, but may not have had the words to describe. As stated by your textbook author, “The knowledge of your Learning Patterns provides you with an explanation of how you learn, not an excuse for failing to put forth the effort to learn.” Take some time to think about what you learned about yourself based on your results from the LCI.

Write: Using the results of the Learning Connections Inventory (LCI), Tables 2.1 through 2.4, and the information you read in sections 2.1 and 2.2, address the following:

a. List your scores, your level of use (Use First, Use as Needed, or Avoid) for each of the four Learning Patterns, and identify whether you are a Dynamic, Bridge, or Strong-willed Learner.

2. Describe a specific time when you used each Pattern to accomplish a task. Each example should demonstrate how you Use First, Use as Needed, or Avoid the Pattern being described based on your results from the LCI. Your examples may be from your academic, personal, or professional experiences. Examples should consist of at least three to five sentences in order to give a complete picture of your thoughts, feelings, and actions associated with each Learning Pattern.
3. Analyze how the awareness of your Learning Patterns may help you in school, work, and/or personal relationships. How can you use this knowledge to be more intentional in these areas? In other words, what can be done to make positive changes in your life right now?

Your initial post should contain a minimum of 250 words and be written in complete sentences.

Respond to Peers: Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers. Compare and contrast how you use your Learning Patterns with how your peers use them. How can your classmates use their Learning Patterns to be more successful in daily life activities? Each response should be a minimum of50 words.

Think about it this way…

This discussion is asking you to do four things:

1. Ensure you have taken the Learning Connections Inventory (LCI). List the four scores you have for each
   pattern and identify whether you are a Dynamic, Bridge, or Strong-Willed Learner. Scores range from 7
   to 35.
2. Describe examples (minimum of three to five sentences each) of how you have used each of the four
   Learning Patterns. Your examples should provide a picture of the thoughts, feelings, and actions you have
   when using that Pattern.
3. Reflect on these three areas: school, work, and personal relationships. Write a paragraph describing how
   awareness of your Learning Patterns will help you in these areas. Identify changes you can make as a
   result of an awareness of your Learning Patterns.
4. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ discussion posts. Use Respond to Peers to assist you with
   your reply.

EXP 105 Week 3 DQ 1 Understanding the Patterns of Others

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Understanding the Patterns of Others [CLO: 2]. 1st Post Due by Day 3.
Prepare: One of the main purposes of a college education is to challenge ourselves to use higher levels of reasoning and thinking skills. Critical thinking involves being able to solve a problem, examine information from several different perspectives, and resolve conflicts. In addition to critically reading Chapter 3 of your textbook, watch the Do You Think? video for another perspective on critical thinking. You will need to review the concepts of Pattern Conflict and Pattern Bias in the Week Three Instructor Guidance.

Reflect: Take time to reflect on those who play an important role in your life and think about how their Learning Patterns are similar to or different from yours. A heightened awareness of the similarities and differences between yourself and others around you is a critical component in the process of becoming an intentional learner.

Write: Address each part of the discussion below:

Pick one adult in your life you regularly interact with. Using your knowledge of the Learning Patterns, guess their level of use for each Pattern and support your reasoning by providing specific examples of how the person you identified uses each Learning Pattern. Note: If you prefer to give them the LCI, please download the instructions in the online classroom. This version is appropriate for individuals ages 16 and up.

List your LCI scores to remind us of your own Learning Patterns.

Provide an example that demonstrates how Learning Patterns play (or have played) a role in your interactions with the person you selected. Consider which Learning Pattern(s) help you connect and work positively with this person and conversely, which Pattern(s) have contributed to or have the potential to lead to Pattern Conflict.

Your initial post should contain a minimum of 250 words.

Respond to Peers: Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers. Identify other areas of potential Pattern Conflict that they may not have considered. Provide additional advice on how they could improve or maximize their relationships with the person they have identified. Each response should be a minimum of 50 words.

Think about it this way…

This discussion is asking you to do four things:

1. Pick one person in your life and guess their level of use for each of the Learning Patterns (or give them
   the LCI). Provide specific examples to support your guesses for each Pattern.
2. List your LCI scores.
3. Provide an example from your experience with this person that illustrates how your Learning Patterns
   worked together positively and/or how they conflicted.
4. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ discussion posts. Use Respond to Peers to assist you with
   your reply.

Type a heading for each section (e.g., Part I: My Daughter’s Learning Patterns), and then write the information under each heading in complete sentences. This helps the reader quickly identify each section and helps you know that you have covered all of the requirements for this post.

EXP 105 Week 3 DQ 2 Critical Reading, Writing, and Your Learning Patterns

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Critical Reading, Writing, and Your Learning Patterns [CLO: 3]. 1st Post Due by Day 3.
Prepare: Critical reading and writing are essential to being a successful student. An important part of being an intentional learner is developing reading and writing strategies that work best for you. There is no “one size fits all” recipe for academic success. The Week Three Instructor Guidance lists strategies to help you become a more intentional reader and writer based on each Learning Pattern.

Critically read Chapter 3 and view the video Intentional learning for college success – Chapter 3 (critical reading). The video shows the unique thinking and writing processes of individual learners as they approach a college-level assignment.

Reflect: Since all four Learning Patterns contribute to excellent writing, consider how the Patterns you Avoid are needed just as much as those you Use First. Practice critical thinking as you reflect on the writing challenges Makayla, John, Paul, and Raheem face in section 3.3.

Write: After considering the scenario of each learner, address the following:
For each of the four learners, provide a minimum of three to four sentences of advice for how they could have used their Learning Patterns with intention in each scenario. For example, Makayla was ruled by her Sequence.

What would you recommend that she do to overcome her dependence on Sequence when approaching writing tasks?

List your Learning Patterns. Based on your own unique Learning Patterns, identify two specific strategies to enhance your critical reading skills and two specific strategies to enhance your critical writing skills. Select strategies presented in Chapter 3 and/or the Week Three Instructor Guidance and explain how you will apply each of the strategies you have identified.

Your initial post should contain a minimum of 250 words.

Respond to Peers: Review your classmates’ posts and respond to at least two, each with a minimum of 50 words. Compare and contrast the strategies for college-level reading and writing your peer identified with your own Learning Patterns. Could these strategies support your learning preferences? Why, or why not? Provide suggestions for additional reading and writing strategies to help your peers use their Learning Patterns with intention.

Think about it this way…

This discussion is asking you to do four things:

1. Read the four learner stories from section 3.3 of your text. Provide advice to each learner that encourages
   intentional use of their Learning Patterns.
2. List two critical reading strategies and two critical writing strategies from Chapter 3 and/or the Instructor
   Guidance that could help you approach college-level reading and writing with greater intention.
3. Explain how you will take action on these strategies.
4. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ discussion posts. Use the “Response to Peers” to assist you
   with your reply.

Type a heading for each section (e.g., My Advice for Makayla, John, Paul, and Raheem), and then write the information under each heading in complete sentences. This helps the reader quickly identify each section and helps you know that you have covered all of the requirements for this post.

EXP 105 Week 4 Assignment Personal Strategy Card

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Personal Strategy Card [CLO: 4]. Due by Day 7. As you read in Chapter 4 section 4.4, the centerpiece of the rehearsal phase of metacognition is the strategy card. After decoding tasks and strategizing how to FIT your Learning Patterns to the task, you can use your knowledge of your Learning Patterns to develop personal strategies to direct your efforts. The most efficient way to do this is to develop a personal strategy card.

Strategy cards convert general study skills into personalized strategies for learning based on each learner’s Patterns. Personal strategy cards are essential to effective rehearsal because they help you address the requirements that you have decoded from the assignment and they help you connect to the instructor’s expectations. Strategy cards help you organize your approach to achieving success on the task. They allow you to practice “smarter, not harder.”

You are more effective when you develop a strategy card for each major task or assignment. In doing so, you become more disciplined and you match your efforts to each requirement. In preparation for your reflection assignment that you will complete in Week 5, we will use the Week 5 Final Reflection assignment instructions for the decoding section of this strategy card. This way, next week, you’ll be able to approach your assignment with intention as you skillfully apply your Learning Patterns.